DALLAS—From the moment Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria showed up in a New York bar and opened his overcoat to unveil the team's yet-to-be-released new uniform to Jose Reyes, the New York Mets were in trouble.

"That showed me (the Marlins) really wanted me," Reyes said Wednesday morning at a news conference to announce his six-year, $106 million deal with the biggest movers of the winter meetings.

After two years of waiting to pursue Reyes, Loria and the Marlins' brain trust wasted no time when they got their chance. They flew to New York to meet Reyes at 12:01 a.m. on the first day Reyes was free to negotiate with other teams. As Reyes walked to the table, Loria stood up, opened his coat and showed off his team's new uniform.

The Mets, meanwhile, did not call and never made a formal offer.

Still, Reyes had enough interest in remaining a Met that the club remained in the running until late Sunday morning. Peter Greenberg, Reyes' agent, said Mets GM Sandy Alderson called last Friday to report the team wanted to make an offer. When Greenberg told Alderson what the Marlins were offering, Alderson said he would be in touch.

As the two talked numerous times over the next 36 hours, Greenberg told Alderson that the parameters of what the Mets were talking "were not competitive" with the Marlins' offer.

The two talked for the last time Sunday morning as Alderson was preparing to fly to the winter meetings. At the time, Reyes had yet to make his decision. But soon after Alderson touched down in Dallas, he told reporters that the Mets were out of it.

"We were still waiting on them," Greenberg said. Apparently, Alderson knew the financially troubled club could not come close to matching the Marlins’ offer.

The deal with the Marlins was widely reported later Sunday even before final details were ironed out. "It was about 12:30-1 (on Monday morning)," Greenberg said. "We're going back and forth. I was at home working and my daughter is like, 'It's being announced and you're still working on it.’ … Word travels fast. These guys (the Marlins) were talking a lot."

After Greenberg heard from media reports that the Mets had bowed out, he called Reyes. Even then, Reyes needed time to make his decision. "He wanted to talk to his dad," Greenberg said. Several hours later, Reyes called his agent: "Tell them I'm a Fish."

Other points about the deal, which includes a $1 million bonus for winning World Series MVP:

• Reyes never had any other serious suitors. "There were teams that had to wait on some decisions before they went to Plan B. Jose wasn't Plan A for anybody else," Greenberg said.

• The contract is back loaded with salaries of $10 million for the first two years, $16 million in year three and $22 million for each of the final three years. A seventh-year club option of $22 million comes with a $4 million buyout.

• Accepting the contract without a no-trade clause was such a potential hang-up that Greenberg made sure that if the Marlins ended up signing Albert Pujols to a deal that included a no-trade, the club also would give Reyes the same protection.

• Speculation early on was that Reyes would score a Carl Crawford-type, seven-year, $142 million deal but the shortstop's second hamstring injury this past season cost him, Greenberg admitted.

"He lost some value in the second half (when he went on the DL again)," he said. "He's still a rich man," Greenberg said.

• Reyes said he had not talked to new teammate Hanley Ramirez, who reportedly is not ready to move from shortstop. Loria, however, said he called Ramirez "30 minutes" after Reyes agreed to terms.

"Hanley is a very important part of our team," Loria said. "I wanted him to know what we had done." Despite reports that Ramirez is seeking a trade, Loria said, "He is going to be a member of our team."

• At the Reyes' news conference, the Marlins refused to discuss their negotiations with Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder or any other free agent other than to say their three-part plan is not complete.